When a visitor drives into Sisters on Cascade Ave. they may get the impression that this Western-themed town is similar to many other small towns when it comes to the retail businesses.Of course, Sisters does have its restaurants and eateries, gift and clothing shops just like the other towns, but it has a lot more. If you can take a little extra time, maybe step away from the main street and discover the businesses that make this creative community of Sisters unique.

As someone who calls Sisters my hometown, I’m guilty of overlooking some of those unique shops too, so I decided to re-visit some of my favorites and find out “what’s new”.

Hood Ave. has some of my favorite galleries like Donterra Artworks, which showcases many local artists with their diverse selections of pottery, outdoor art, furniture, jewelry, and fiber arts.Next door to Donterra is a new gallery, called Vista Bonita, with a selection of functional art and blown glass pieces. Down the street is the new Clearwater Gallery, with displays of distinctive western, landscape and wildlife art from Northwest artists, including owner/artist, Dan Rickards.

What would an historical western town be without its western shops?There’s the long-time favorite, Leavitt’s Western Wear on the corner of Elm and Cascade with its impressive selection of stylish western clothing and boots.Another of my favorites is Cowgirls and Indians Resale on Oak St. This western boutique is a favorite with western art collectors and urban cowgirls with a keen eye for quality and a bargain.

If antiques are what you are looking for, then you must go to the intersection of Fir and Hood. With the relocation of Old West Antiques, this is becoming the hub of the antique shops in town.The only one missing from that location is Kalamazoo Antique Mall,which is still at its long-time location on Cascade Ave.

Another group of shops offering that unique shopping experience are the ones with local hand-crafted items.Sisters Log Furniture has two stores on Cascade Ave. each packed with one-of-a-kind pine and juniper furniture and rustic home décor items. A little further west on Cascade Ave. is The Jewel, one of the most diverse galleries of gems, minerals and jewelry design I have seen.I especially love the sterling jewelry cast from plants and flowers.Canyon Creek Pottery is off the main shopping area, but it is worth the trip over to Adams and Larch.Ken Merrill’s rustic gallery has a wonderful selection of his functional and decorative pottery.This is hand-crafted pottery at its best.

Of course, possibly the best hand-crafted business in town would be Beacham’s Clock Shop on the corner of Hood and Oak. This business is in a class of its own.Not just because of the amazing selection of clocks and watches, but because of the owners, Ed & Kathi Beacham’s, unique talents.Ed has been making clocks since the 1970’s and is one of a few clockmakers in the country who designs and builds from scratch, not just the delicate inner workings of a clock, but also the cases that contain and display them. They have over 1000 clocks in the shop, including an 1870 German castle clock commissioned by King Frederick III and an amazing reproduction of a 15th century astronomical tower clock that resides in Prague. This amazing masterpiece was built by Ed Beacham, master clockmaker. Try and visit on the hour, so you can get the thrill of hearing the chimes of all the clocks.

Sisters is constantly changing and new retail businesses are opening up all the time. The shopping in this small town has never been better.